29th Grand Masonic

DaySaturday, 5 March 2011

My brothers, how was your lunch to-day? Did the meal satisfy yourbody? How were the presentations this morning? Did they make you think?Did they stimulate the mind, create discussion?

Today, these two items work together. For one feeds the body andsustains life, while the other, feeds, nourishes and stimulates the mind.

These are not just snacks for a short period of time, but food for themind to sustain you through a lifetime; they allow you to expand yourhorizon well into the future and to contemplate what could be.

Snack foods are not fulfilling for the body or the mind. They mayplant seeds or thoughts but if we fail to use the nourishment of our mindfor the betterment of mankind and society it is a waste.

For today, you brethren have figuratively moved from the comfort ofyour lodge and district into a new zone of knowledge, by attending thisGrand Masonic Day. Location is irrelevant, for you have met and heardbrethren from around our jurisdiction, created new friendships, andenjoyed each others fellowship.

And how about the fellowship? There is nothing better than toshake a brother’s hand in greeting, meet new brothers and renew oldacquaintance from lodges and districts you have not attended in a while.For this is, truly a place of fellowship.

For this is a Saturday not like any others. For today you are notrunning errands, or taking your children to soccer or hockey, for example.No to-do list here. Today at this moment you are immersed in the sharedfellowship of thoughts, points of view, discussions, things that make yousay “hmm” and cause you to pause and reflect. As George Bernard Shawonce said, “Some men see things as they are and say why — I dreamthings that never were and say why not.”

When you are in your lodge room, within your district, that is yourquiet place in life, away from the outside the world.; where you can sit andreflect upon the previous events of the past hours, days, weeks or months… contemplating what you could have done, would have done or will do.This is your place to relax and reflect without any external influences. Thisis your place of solitude and comfort, knowing that the world is outside ofthose four walls and will not disturb you for the next little while. You arewith like-minded brethren who love a good discussion. Where thoughtsand opinions are valued and accepted.

Discussion without attitudes, without cheapening of the Craft orcraftsman. One does it one way while another does it another. It does notmatter that it is right or wrong, it is the results that count. For examplemaking tea for the lodge festive board or working with MS Windows, thereare many ways or paths, and the results are same.

We have to assist our new brother in the Craft. How? By beingexamples, showing them better ways to be freemasons. We need to make

adjustments in the way we say things. I have some pet peeves, simplething I call masonic viruses. These may just be words to some, but in theears of the learned and the uninitiated they cause problems. Listen to thedifferences:• Doing or putting on vs conferring the degrees;• Brother Bob vs Brother Brown;• Emergent vs regular business Listen to the difference, and understand the difference.

My brothers, we are being watched, and others believe that whenwe say these things we know what we are talking about. Therefore wemust be correct. If we are able to amend our ways we will assist others. It’slike fine tuning a stereo.

Remember our thoughts and actions, for we are measuredconstantly by others and how they interpret our actions. Let us continue toprosper and deliver messages that will continue to stimulate their minds aswell as our own in a positive manner.

When we’re hollering at the game on television, what does it getus? As our significant others will let us know, we are not the coach.Remember, as passionate as we can be, nothing changes if we are onlyspectators. Let us put that passion inside our fraternity, to keep the firesburning in the intellect of our body.

I would like to leave you with a quote from H. A. N. Puddicombefrom his book Masonic Foundation:

“As we look at the Perfect Ashlar, suspended from thederrick, we remember that the stone, when perfected, is onlyabout to enter upon another career of boundless possibilities. Ithas only attained its present form after long and tedious toil. Butall that is past, and it now awaits the pleasure of the masterbuilder to be lowered into its resting place.

“When we have arrived at that awful moment when we,too, are about to take flight to that boundless and unexploredexpanse above, we will be suspend awaiting the pleasure of theGreat Architect. To him we cannot dictate, but merely await theapplication of His attesting square and compasses. Thus do welearn to bend with humility and resignment to His will, contentin the one certainty that He, in His wisdom, has assigned toevery approved stone its place in His Everlasting Temple, andthat nothing we have accomplished towards the attainment ofperfection but will meet its reward in His approbation.”

If you can conceive it, And believe it, You can achieve it!-Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) author of Think and Grow Rich.

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Food for the Body and the MindPresented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011

by R.W. Bro. Donald E. Stutt, Junior Grand Warden

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Overview:• Leverage management practices to improve Freemasonry;• Describe impacts of individual Capability and Engagement;• Categorizing brethren by Capability and Engagement;• C.E.M.E.N.T. the Capability of our brethren;• A.D.O.R.N. the Engagement of our brethren;• Benefits of improving Capability and Engagement.

Leverage Management PracticesThe author Eric Thompson described Capability and Engagement as

the key to success and productivity.Capability – Ability to deliver on commitments. The individual

must be capable of doing the job. The individual’s capability will depend ontheir history. Capability is accumulated along the way. It depends on theeducation, training and experience that the individual has had.

Engagement – Willingness and desire to perform. The secondcriterion is engagement. This is the greater challenge for the organisation,because the issues that cause each individual to engage are different andchange with time

Existing Solutions The current Five Pillar Plan from GLBCY aspires to address both

elements.Capability – Ability to deliver on commitments

Capability can be increased through training, development,coaching and mentorship. The employee needs to be developed both forthe short term and for the long term.Engagement – Willingness and desire to perform.

In parallel with addressing the individual's capability, theorganization needs to work on engagement (e,g., Fellowship, FraternalBond)

Implications of Capability-EngagementBrethren who are highly engaged with high capabilities in

Freemasonry are our STARS as they should readily embrace the challengesand opportunities to lead our Craft and lodges, and be mentors andpositive examples to our brethren.

A highly capable brother with low engagement could be termed aDIVA, in that the participation and involvement may involve animosity orhesitation, and the leadership challenge is to find common areas to rebuildthe engagement and restore the connections.

A highly engaged brother with low capability could be termed aSTRUGGLER in that the effort and energy is applied, but the outcomes arenot always up to an acceptable standard. Like the rough ashlar, brethrenin this category need mentorship and guidance, while ensuring that theirengagement is not diminished through discouragement.

The area of highest risk are the brethren who are neither engagednor capable. This category does not serve the fraternity, and the bestapproach is to take an “up or out” mentality by providing the opportunitiesto improve capabilities and enhance engagement.

If these efforts are not successful, it may be in everyone’s highestgood to allow the BUDS to “bloom” with a group or pastime which moreclosely aligns with their preferences and talents.

Categories of masonic brethrenBased on an evaluation of relative levels of Capability and

Engagement, we can categorize our brethren and adapt ourcommunications to them accordingly.

High Capability High-Low High-High"DIVAS" "STARS"

Low Capability Low-Low Low-High "BUDS" "STRUGGLERS"

Low Engagement High Engagement

C.E.M.E.N.T. CapabilityC- Ceremony – Display proper Freemasonry for excellenceE- Education – Cover the landmarks and key componentsM- Mentorship – Direct guidance on all masonic aspectsE- Enforcement – Validate lessons, live by masonic exampleN- Nomination – When ready, advance brother to higher rôleT- Transition – Transition from Learner to Leader, continuously

A.D.O.R.N. EngagementA- Acceptance – Formalize and confirm Masonic acceptanceD- Development – Connect to brother with common interestsO- Orientation – Expose brother to other Masonic initiativesR- Recognition – Construct sequential growth and rewardsN- Naturalization – Establish a “New Normal” pattern

Quick Wins: Capability and EngagementExamples of small gestures to turn brethren into STARS!• Include brother in long-term planning discussions• Arrange calls and visits during illness or distress• Recognize personal masonic milestones at all levels (even “baby

steps”) to create a positive momentum of achievement.Promote brethren with a particular competency or talent who can assist

other brethren or lodges.Risks of inadequate attention

Compare the relative value with the attrition of a brother and thesubsequent loss.

Benefits of a successful programmeA highly capable brother is versatile and adaptable. A highly

engaged brother provides support which is necessary for overall success.Both Capability and Engagement are essential for the sustainability of ourcraft, particularly to retain positive involvement brethren in the face ofdemographic declines

Fulfills ritual promise to “Shine As The STARS”.

Comments and questions:dzss@shaw.ca

Cement and adorn:Building capability and engagement among brethren in Freemasonry

Presented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011by W. Bro. Daniel Zrymiak, St. James Lodge No. 80

P A S S I N G T H R O U G H anything asmonumental as these two great pillars,should not be taken lightly. Because justlike passing through a time in one’s life,there is as much to be learned when wereflect as there was when we were there. Infact there is often more. And now it is mucheasier in many ways to focus, withoutdistraction, on what we saw and what welearned. Today I would like to share howuseful and fun that I believe it is, to utilizethe rich symbolism of the Craft forreflection, and for self-exploration. I inviteyou to focus in on those moments we’vespent with these pillars, and join me as Iabstract some ideas from them and reflecton the.

Boaz and JachinBoaz (strength) derived from “b”

(beth) and “oaz” (vau and zayin): left handpillar facing northeast .

A paper could be presented on thelife and rôle of Boaz the man himself, but I’llkeep it short and say that he was a man ofgreat charity, selflessness and compassion,a man who did the right thing in his time.Together, he and Ruth had a son, Obed,father of Jesse and grandfather of David,who of course was the father of Solomon. 1

Jachin (Establishment) deriving fromthe Hebrew “Ja” (Yah) meaning God,2 a shortened version of the sacredHebrew YHVH ) and “iachin” (will establish): right hand pillar facingsoutheast, (often called the pillar of establishment).

Where were these pillars cast? On the banks of the Jordan betweenSuccoth and Zeradatha. Being a geographer I’m inclined to question theimportance of these locations. Is something else located here? Didsomething important happen here? Turns out that yes, somethingimportant did happen here, aside from someone discovering that this placehad the best clay in the middle-east.

Both of these places directly relate with the crossing of the Jews outof Egypt.3 When the Israelites embarked on their exodus from captivity inEgypt they passed through or between these places of Zeradatha andSuccoth, where later the pillars of the temple were figuratively cast byHiram Abiff, these same pillars that we pass through from captivity inignorance to our journey through Freemasonry; our journey of self mastery,and the discovery of our own time and place. These ancient Israelitesbrought with them the mysterious ideas of the Egyptians. Moses himselfwas trained as an Egyptian priest,4 receiving a provocative distinctioncourtesy of Sigmund Freud, who on pondering the mnemohistory of Moses’

person, suggested that the patriarch was are-animation or reiteration of the PharaohAkenhaten, the first pharoah to challengethe traditionally polytheistic Egyptianreligions by practicing a monotheisticworship of Aten, or Ra, the sun god.5

Freud’s position on this has been largelydiscredited by the academy, but it standsas an important inquiry into deeper tiesbetween the Judeo-Christian tradition andancient Egypt from a more mainstreamsource than some modern masonic writersmay choose. J.S.M. Ward also draws acomparison between these pillars and thepillars Tat and Tattu in the Egyptian Bookof the Dead. (Ward, No. 2 The F.C.’sHandbook, Lewis Masonic, 1974, p. 26)

What is far less debated is thatthese same Jewish thinkers brought out ofEgypt by Moses also brought us thewestern hemisphere’s first notion of amonotheistic religion and of a singularmetaphysical and omnipresent God, if wediscount Zoroastrianism, which had beenpracticed in Iran and elsewhere since thefourteenth century BCE.6 The conceptual-ization or discovery of this deity which wasnot tied to a specific geography, like manynature-based or fixed tribal deities, createsthe underpinnings and foundation of

western theology, contributes powerfully to our laws and values, and manyof our notions of divinity, virtue, judgment and afterlife. It is intrinsicallywoven into our collective psyche and our cultural discourse. So it seemsvery fitting that these pillars would be cast in the place where the mysticaland philosophical ideas of ancient Egypt were carried out by the ancientJews, on their way to such a revelation and contribution. It was therevelation not of a new god, but The God; the source of creation andenergy of the living universe. And it opened the minds of men to questionall kinds of philosophical, metaphysical and other complex ideas; ideas thatto this very day we are still challenged by whether we’re quantumphysicists or just curious souls.

We pass through these pillars on the way to our discovery of ourself, which by nature of us being a creature of this universe and the forcewhich created it, the discovery too of our personal relationship with thedivine. In Freemasonry this is left open to personal interpretation of course,but I believe that the western traditions of mysticism and theology have anindelible imprint in our rituals, as do other pre-Christian traditions too.Other scholars like J.S.M. Ward7 or modern writers like Knight and Lomashave their own interpretations which fall one way or the other on a similarpile as mine, Knight and Lomas invoking the Celtic or Druidic traditions and

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Masonry as meditation:A paper on the pillars

Presented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011by Bro. Wesley S. Regan, Mount Hermon Lodge No. 7

The enlightened being.

J.S.M. Ward a whole host of eastern andnear eastern traditions in which he findscommon ties to masonic symbolism andpractice. I believe that these pillars tell usmore about the human psyche, myth, beliefand mnemohistory than most of us may atfirst realize.

So what are some of the particularsthat the western traditions of philosophy,mysticism, spirituality and theology owe tothe Jewish scholars of old? What do weowe David and Solomon whom these pillarsare both associated with? Well, we owe alot, we being the western civilization thatFreemasonry flourished in during theenlightenment and hereafter. And in myopinion the Kingdom of David and his sonSolomon may be more about the mysticaland monotheistic traditions of the west andthe influence it has had on academics,scientists, philosophers and spiritualthinkers, as it is the men and their time.

Establish his kingdom in strength,this line from the Ancient Work lecturealways resonated in my head. The Kingdomof David didn’t last much longer than the man himself, but yet thousandsof years later in our ritual there is reference made to it still. In fact it plays avery important part in our ritual. I see the kingdom that was established instrength being, in my opinion, more of a metaphysical, intellectualkingdom than a physical one. Because as we all know, eventually the fleshcleaves from the bone as our corporeal efforts on this planet come to anend. But intellectually, philosophically, metaphysically, the Kingdom ofDavid and the Temple of Solomon live on in the work of the civilizationsthat have followed, not to mention in the rituals of our degrees.

David defeated the giant Goliath, which has been interpreted bysome Jewish thinkers as a metaphorical representation of the victory ofmonotheism over paganism and by Christian thinkers as representative ofthe Church’s struggle against Satan, or evil.8 This giant vs younglingepisode is paralleled in other faiths or mythologies as well, perhaps mostsimilarly in Homer’s Iliad.9 In the case of David and Goliath it is themetaphorical allusion to the defeat of paganism and establishment of themonotheistic theological and philosophical western tradition that I ammost concerned with in this paper, along with the related geometries,geographies, and esoteric ideas that accompany it.

Today we see the symbolsnamed the Star of David or the Star ofSolomon, important symbols or imagesnot only to the Jewish but to alchemistsand magicians of the middle ages whogave way to the chemists and otherscientists of the renaissance andenlightenment, including IsaacNewton,10 purported though notproven to be a freemason himself andcounted among the founders of the

Royal Society, the preëminent college of scientific and social theorists stillheld in acclaim today. Though dating back thousands of years and found inother parts of the world,11 this talismanic symbol is known mostcommonly now as the Star of David. Its number of points and the idea of a

seventh in its centre conform with thesacred numbers 6 and 7 of which thecreation myth and eschatology explore. It isheld that this symbol was the famed Seal ofSolomon, featured in his signet. It wasclaimed to have given him mystical powers,domination over demons, and the ability tospeak with animals among other things.12

It is also perceived to be a talismandenoting creation and redemption, life anddeath and the most commonly acceptedsymbolic statement of the dual nature ofGod, his divine nature and his humannature.13 In alchemy, the precursor tomodern chemistry and other sciencespracticed by the Hermetic philosophers, thisshape combines the symbols for fire(equated with masculine energy) and ofwater (equated with feminine energy), theybeing an upward and downward trianglerespectively.14 The symbol can therefore beequated with balance, unity, wholeness,similar to the concept of yin and yang. JohnSebastian Marlow Ward emphasizes themasculine-feminine overtones coming from

the Entered Apprentice degree to Fellowcraft degree, the EnteredApprentice degree being representative of the creative feminine side, theweaker side as represented by the left knee, and the stronger masculine orpreservative side of the Fellowcraft degree as represented by its ownparticulars.15

Aside from the mystical connections of David and Solomon and thegeometries associated with their names, the western philosophical andtheological tradition also carries with it a prominent focus on death, theafterlife, resurrection and a period of salvation orperfection to one day arrive. King David playsprominently in this promise of reward for oursuffering. Therefore the line of David and thus theintellectual and metaphysical Kingdom of David inthis context are important not just in Jewish culture but in the westerntradition itself, one which includes Christianity, Islam, epistemology,natural philosophy and a host of other schools ofthought which stem from our most primitive sacrednotions, organized into the language of thedominant spiritual or intellectual paradigm of whichwe’ve existed in for millennia.

Is this the kingdom of ideas, the western (or human) tradition oftheology and mysticism, man’s search for his connection with the divine,the close examination and mastery of the physical realm we’re born intothat these pillars are representative of? Because after all, the Fellowcraftdegree encourages us to familiarize ourselves with the liberal arts andsciences that have matured from our ancient ideas into the intellectualtapestry that supports modern society today. I believe this is one aspect ofthese pillars and the importance of the five pillars in general in theFellowcraft degree — a sort of acknowledgement of the birth of westernthinking as a blend of Greek and proto-Judeo-Christian traditions that havecoälesced with informed and subsumed many other belief systems andcultures scattered throughout vast geographies. The birth of writing afterall, began the fertile-crescent, arcing from Mesopotamia to Egypt, and theGreeks too offered us further insight into the human condition upon

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David and Goliath.

Gust

av D

oré,

186

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pondering through language and debate,reality, shapes, sounds, morals and virtues,gods and goddesses correlating to previousancients. And through the expansion anddissolution of the Roman Empire wasbirthed the European Kingdoms followedby their nation-states and modern union.And so in this ritualistic sense I see thesepillars as a spiritual and intellectual birthcanal for both the western traditions,including the mystery traditions and for thecandidate himself. In fact there are fertilityimages right on them. Lilies andpomegranates being representative offertility, spiritual purity, birth and rebirth.The lily is also a symbol of motherhood.16

(Lehner, p. 119) This is fitting, being thatwe refer to these places where we passthrough the pillars for the first time as ourMother Lodge.

Where else have li l ies figuredprominently? To the ancient Egyptians, thetrumpet-shaped lily was a symbol of Upper Egypt and has been associatedwith Ishtar (aka Astarte) who was herself a goddess of creation and fertilityas well as a virgin.17 The Greeks and Romans linked the lily with the queenof the gods, called Hera by the Greeks and Juno by the Romans. Andlikewise the pomegranate was also linked to Hera and Juno (Lehrer, p. 123). The lily was also one of the symbols of the Roman goddessVenus.18 In Western art the angel Gabriel is seen giving Mary a branch ofpure white lilies, proclaiming that she is to be the mother of the Christ.Featured in the Song of Solomon the lilly has been historically associatedwith the Hebraic Flower of Solomon, or Star of David, which we justexamined earlier.19 Thus the lily denotes spirituality, fertility, purity andrebirth in this and other contexts much older than Christianity and evenJudaism. In fact one form of lily, the lotus is featured prominently in thevery birth of the physical universe itself. In the Hindu creation myth, thegod Brahma is birthed in a water lily or lotus that grows from the navel oflord Vishnu upon the great expanse of endless ocean that is the cosmicnothingness. The water lily enjoys pride of place in botany as the earliest ofthe blooming flora to come forth from the angiosperm — classified asbasal-angiosperm. Lilies are important; they are the genetic missing link inthe plant world, so to speak, that allowed the staple foods of humansocieties such as corn, wheat, and rice, toemerge.20 Notice the bed of cobras Vishnuis resting upon. The serpent in both Indiaand Egypt symbolizes something muchdifferent than modern westerners havecome to equate it with today.21 SomethingI contemplate nearly every time I clasp myapron on, that is if haven’t franticallyrushed to lodge after work.

The lotus of course is also a veryimportant flower in Buddhism. As JosephCampbell beautifully puts it, “The jewel ofeternity is in the lotus of birth and death”(Campbell, p. 130)22 And as you can see inthe image at the beginning of this paperthe enlightened being is quite androgynous.This comment isn’t made in jest. The

Kabbalists of the mediæval period and theChristian gnostics also believe that theoriginal man was quite androgynous beforeour male and female energies wereseparated as represented by the creation ofEve. (Campbell p. 131) But put this way itsounds almost mean and misogynistic! Ourduality of sexes, or rather, our duality ofmale and female essence, are parallel toand representative of our duality apart fromthe divine. We seek union with each other,we seek union with our creator, we searchfor soul mates to make us complete and weourselves do the very work of creation aswe forever clamor to reconnect and re-perfect our union with the divine andourselves. From the two, man and woman,comes three — the child, birth andcreation. Think once again of the twotriangles connected as in the Star of Davidor Seal of Solomon. The perfected humanbeing, unity with the divine, full capacity of

both the feminine and masculine, of fire and water, destruction andcreation. A representation of the perfection of our unity as a potentiallydivine creature, so in need of salvation, and of answers, so imperfect yetwith such potential, and able to see beyond the veil of the mystery- butperhaps never able to fully comprehend it in this our present form and inthis life. Through the liberal arts and sciences we see its beautifulgeometry, and hear its beautiful harmony, but like animals we humansclaw and defile the physical world and each other despite these ever-present glimpses of the divine. Those glimpses can become gazes here inthe Lodge, and in the symbols that aggregate the accoutrements of ourFurniture and ritual. These Lodge rooms are full of symbolism, these pillarsalone can tell us the story of the creation of man and the physical universehe inhabits, the purity of our divine nature and the oneness we seek with itas told by many different cultures. They speak to the richness of thesymbolism of the Craft, that the few symbols and concepts meditated onhere alone, in a rich collage of others, contain so much meaning andmystery. That they can inspire an intellectual and spiritual journey thattakes us right to the core of our being and deep into the collective psycheof Western civilization and human civilization at large, and the mysticismthat forms the spiritual and intellectual soil from which it grows.

Freemasonry is a gymnasium for the mind,and a puzzle for the soul.

To conclude, in contemplating justone aspect of our ritual, one fleetingmoment in a career of revelations we findthat we can go much deeper in exploringtheir meaning to us, in ways that becomeas intensely introspective or as broad as wechoose. When wand tips meet, when metaltouches your chest, when your naked feettouch the ground and walk through thismystery- we are being introduced to somuch more than one can imagine at firstglance. And so if you like to exercise yourmind, if you enjoy asking big questions andfamiliarizing yourself with exotic placesand times, travelling even to the beginning

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The Annunciation

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Lord Vishnu and the goddess, Lakshmi.

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of the universe and deep into the psyche of human civilization, then Iencourage you to take a moment and enjoy the rich symbolism and ritualfound within Freemasonry. And if you don’t, just bear with me till FestiveBoard and we can be a little more laid back! But I firmly believe that weshouldn’t just pass through Freemasonry, particularly the Craft Lodgeexperience, like we pass through these pillars, without taking time to reallyponder and admire them, because as I hope I’ve just demonstrated there isso much more beauty and wisdom to appreciate when we take the time tohonor and examine these experiences that have been so thoughtfullycompiled and governed for our benefit.

Notes1 Ruth R. to ii. 14; Shab. 113b2. http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/Esoteric/esoteric.html 3. http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Zeredatha (on Zeretan or

Zeredetha) and http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/succoth, bothassociate the exodus from Egypt with these locations.

4. Acts 7:22 "Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians"5. Freud, S. Der Mann Moses und die monotheistische Religion (Moses and

Monotheism), (1937), (1939 English)6. its reach or influence has been limited in the western tradition compared

to Judaism but nonetheless deserves mention7. In JSM Ward’s EA, FC and MM Handbooks he liberally draws

comparisons to other traditions and faiths, including Hinduism,prehistoric Solar Cults and Pythagorean Mystery School teachings. JSMWard, The E.A., F.C and M. M Handbooks, Lewis Masonic, Middlesex,Seventh Impression, 1974

8. The metaphorical interpretations of David and other Jewish scripturesare scattered through the early Christian writers (Augustine mostnotably). see Raymond-Jean Frontain and Jan Wojcik (eds.), “The DavidMyth in Western Literature” (1979). See JSTOR.

9. Homer, Iliad Book 7 ll.132–16010. Moonlighting as a Conjurer of Chemicals, Natalie Angier, New York

Times, October 11, 2010. accessed 20 January, 2011.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/science/12newton.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

11. “Of all talismans, there is none, except, perhaps, the cross, which was sogenerally prevalent among the ancients as this Seal of Solomon or Shieldof David. It has been found in the cave of Elephanta, in India,

accompanying the image of the Deity, and many other places celebratedin the Brahmanical and the Buddhist religions. Hay, in an exploration intoWestern Barbary, found it in the harem of a Moor, and in a Jewishsynagogue, where it was suspended in front of the recess in which thesacred rolls were deposited. In fact, the interlaced triangles or Seal ofSolomon may be considered as par excellence, by merit, the GreatOriental talisman” Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, accessedfrom masonicdictionary.com/sealsolomon.html

12. Drury, N and Tillett, G. (1997), The Occult: A Sourcebook of EsotericWisdom, Saraband, Connecticut (p. 53)

13. “…But at length the ecclesiologists seem to have settled on the idea thatthe figure should be considered as representing the two natures of ourLord-His Divine and His human nature.” Mackey’s Encyclopedia ofFreemasonry accessed from masonicdictionary.com/sealsolomon.html

14. scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/Logo/logo.php American Association ofChemistry

15. JSM Ward, The F.C.’s Handbook, Lewis Masonic, Middlesex, SeventhImpression, 1974, p19

16. Lehner, Johanna and Ernst, (1960) Folklore and Symbolism of FlowersPlants and Trees, Tudor Publishing, New York,

17. mythencyclopedia.com/Fi-Go/Flowers-in-Mythology.html 18. mythencyclopedia.com/Fi-Go/Flowers-in-Mythology.html 19. “In Egyptian empires they have been an emblem of the sovereignty of

kings and a symbol of virginal innocence and the bridal state (Solomon’sSong of Songs, 2, 1–2). This citation has also been taken as anassociation of this lily with the Hebrew Flower of Solomon, Judaism’sStar of David” Riklef Kandeler and Wolfram R. Ullrich, Symbolism ofplants: examples from European-Mediterranean culture presented withbiology and history of art. Oxford University Press [on behalf of theSociety for Experimental Biology]. accessed December 2010 fromjxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/60/7/1893.full

20. Water Lily is “Missing-Link of Plants” CBC News, Monday 4 February2002 Accessed 30 January 2011 atcbc.ca/health/story/2002/01/30/waterlily020130.html

21. Ward touches on this aspect of the regenerative qualities of snakes, whoshed their skin and are reborn anew, being representative of rebirth

22. Campbell, Joseph, Hero With a Thousand Faces, 3rd edition (2008)Pantheon Books, New York.

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This paper is intended as a guide for experienced and inexperiencedfreemasons alike because I believe that we can all improve ourperformance in Lodge. It is a work in progress. As I get additional ideas andcomments from brethren I will update and improve the paper.

Contents1. Introduction2. Planning and allocating ritual3. Memorizing and learning the ritual 4. Stage fright and nerves5. Performance and delivery6. Conclusion

IntroductionIn one survey public speaking was ranked as the number one fear

among men — above the fear of death — so you are not alone if the verythought of giving a lecture in lodge fills you with dread, yet mostfreemasons, to varying degrees, have conquered their fears by performingritual in lodge. What I want to talk about this evening are the methods bywhich I and others are able to learn the ritual, overcome our publicspeaking fears, and perhaps most importantly, perform the ritual to thebest of our ability. That last point is very important because it representsthe most we can expect out of any brother — to do his best — and in myview this makes comparisons of one brother’s ritual to another a non-issue.But I also strongly believe that we can all improve our individual andcollective performance of the ritual.

Planning and allocating the ritualLodges can greatly assist by planning their degrees early— giving

two weeks, or even less, notice to even an experienced ritualist is onlyacceptable in an emergency and last minute planning doesn't qualify! Inmost lodges the Worshipful Master and Director of Ceremonies would beresponsible for allocating all the lectures and parts in a degree. Doing sowith three or more months notice gives the brethren ample time to study. Italso allows an opportunity for other than “the good old standbys” achance to be part of the degree. Those that already know the lectures canthen be kept in reserve for last minute replacements if necessary. Alwayscall the practice a week before the degree and insist on a full rehearsal ofall parts as that will help those doing parts for the first time. This isimportant as those participating then know that they have to have theirparts ready for the practice. The week between the practice and degreeshould be used for polishing the performance not learning the lines for thefirst time.

Memorizing and learning the ritualThere are four main stages to learning ritual;

1. Memorize all the words soon after you are allocated a part;2. Repeat it aloud often;3. Repeat it aloud often;4. Repeat it aloud often.

When accepting a part in a degree too many brethren procrastinateand don't start learning their parts until it is too late to do them justice.

Some men can memorize the work quickly, and for others it is aconsiderable time commitment. In my experience the more memorizing youdo the quicker the brain will learn.

Before attempting to memorize any words, read your part two orthree times over. Our ritual was mostly written over 150 years ago andalthough the English is exquisite there are many words not in common usetoday so look them up in a dictionary or Google them online. By reading italoud you will get a preliminary idea of how to communicate the lecture.

In our busy lives we often find it difficult to set aside time tomemorize ritual but we have to make time otherwise we will end up doingit when we have no choice and that is always way too late. Consider whattime of the day you are most alert — for some this will be early in themorning, some later in the day, but it is rarely late at night. Try to getsomewhere away from interruptions and on no account try to learn whenthe hockey playoffs are on!

There are many different ways of approaching memorization. Forsome making a voice recording of the whole lecture and repeating it athome or in the car works well. Others will write out the whole lecture byhand as this not only reinforces the memory but it also allows time to thinkabout the meaning of the words. I generally use the old fashioned way ofcovering up the ritual with an old envelope and learning sentence bysentence and eventually paragraph by paragraph. For me it depends on thelength of the lecture or the part — but the principal aim is the same — tomemorize all the words as soon as I am able.1. For a relatively short piece, say less than half a page, I simply learn the

words sentence by sentence until I can repeat the whole piece. If it's ina couple of paragraphs then I will do it paragraph by paragraph.

2. For a one to multiple page single lecture I will learn it paragraph byparagraph — imagining them as a series of smaller lectures. I willspend exactly the time I need to repeat each paragraph roughly rightand then move on to the next paragraph and repeat the procedure untilI have gone through the whole lecture. Note: I know that I will haveforgotten most of the first paragraph by the end of this process. Butthat doesn't matter because I am going to repeat the process all theway through the lecture and for a third or fourth time if necessary —the brain is a wonderful computer that recognizes that I've been overthese words before and each time I go through the whole piece moresticks in my memory until I have it all down roughly right.

The aim here is to spend as much time on the last third of thelecture as the first third. Too often you hear a lecture in lodge where thefirst third sounds like Laurence, Lord Olivier or Sir Anthony Hopkins, thesecond third is good with the odd prompt and the final third requires a lotof prompting. Usually this is because the brother has repeated the firstparagraphs learned every time he learned a new paragraph — therebygiving far more attention and repetition to the first third of the lecture.3. For a major part in a degree, such as that performed by a Worshipful

Master, I start with what I consider to be the most important section ofmy part — in the case of the WM that would be the obligation — andlearn that first, applying the principles outlined in 1. and 2. As theobligation will be repeated by the candidate it is useful to practice the

Learning and performing ritualPresented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011

by RW Bro. Philip Durell, Maple Leaf Park Lodge No. 63

10

obligation by repeating both the Worshipful Master’s part and thecandidates responses. When you have it down have someone else actthe candidate’s part. After learning the obligation I will memorize thenext largest pieces, until finally I go through all of my part frombeginning to end. Remember that all I'm trying to do at this stage is getthe words memorized roughly right.

Some people find it easier to memorize the whole degree so thatthey know their cues — particularly in what I call the Q&A sections (likeopening a lodge). What I do at this stage is have my wife or anotherbrother ‘test’ me on the memorization by giving me the previous line to mypart. I intersperse this testing by repeating the whole part out aloud until Iknow my lines and my cues. Some brethren are good at improvising, butI’m not, so I try and be close to word perfect — never quite achieved butclose. There is a reason for this which I’ll get to when under performance.

For a long lecture it is important to remember the sequence ofparagraphs. Many brethren use cue cards which I think is great for practicebut I’d prefer not to see used in lodge unless they are unobtrusive — sayon a pedestal but not held in the hand when on the floor of the lodge. Farbetter to be prompted. For me I can see the sequence of paragraphs on thepage in my mind so please don’t give me the lecture in a different font!

Stage fright and nervesMost people get very anxious when they are about to perform even

if they’ve done it 100 times before. How often have you been perfectreciting ritual in the shower or in the car only to go blank in lodge due toanxiety. There are some pointers to overcoming nerves;• Lay off caffeine — particularly coffee and colas. It may make you feel

more alert but it will increase heart rate and heighten any anxiousfeelings. Maintain normal eating habits and don’t skip meals before abig part as the body and brain need energy.

• Remember to breathe. If you feel a panic coming on before your parttake several deep and slow breaths. You can also imagine how you’llfeel after your performance — i.e. relaxed. This will help calm youdown.

• Make sure you learned your lines days before and show up early on thenight. A combination of last minute revising and late arrival can bedeadly!

• Lastly, remember that all those Past Masters out there are just peopleand your performance is not a matter of life and death — even if itfeels like it at the time!

Performance and deliveryNo matter how good your memory, always have a prompter. There

should only be one prompter at a time who has no other responsibility —preferably not the Secretary or even the Director of Ceremonies. It is okayto have different prompters for major lectures in the degree provided thatthis is planned beforehand and the Worshipful Master, Director ofCeremonies and other prompter/s are informed. The prompter should beclose to the brother performing the ritual — not at the other end of thelodge! It is important that the prompter have a clear and distinct voice andthat you agree on the signals to be made when you need a word.

Always speak in a clear and distinct voice loud enough to be heardin all corners of the lodge. You may be addressing a candidate but all thebrethren want to hear you.

There is one difference between a good piece of ritual and a greatpiece of ritual and that is the performance and delivery of the brother. Thefirst is often characterized by good memorization but to be trulymemorable the delivery has to match the standard of memorization — infact I’d say it is even more important. This is why I try to memorize as closeto word perfect as I can — because you cannot achieve a great delivery if

your brain is using its capacity trying to remember the next sentence.That’s why it is essential to memorize the words early and repeat the wholepiece as often as possible. The more repetitions the more automatic willbecome the recall of the sentences and as the repetitions progress you willfind yourself beginning to interpret their meaning. This is really importantas it is your interpretation of their meaning that you will be communicatingin lodge.

To truly communicate a lecture we have several tools at ourdisposal. First is our voice which has a range of options to help us:• tone• volume• speed• pauses• pitch

If we are close to a candidate we can also use facial expressions andbody language. If we are performing a drama portion as in the second halfof the Ancient work MM degree or in the Scottish Rite degrees, pleaseenroll in one of W Bro. Mark Brandon’s acting classes!

The ritual gives us plenty of clues as to what we should emphasize.Take the Address to the Brethren which is performed at the end of eachinstallation. Consider this passage; the first part is a narrative but there arekey phrases that need emphasis — by my interpretation the ones I’vehighlighted — phrases like ‘fundamental principles of our order’ and ‘thechief point of Freemasonry’ beg for emphasis.

The object, however, of meeting in the lodge is of a two-fold nature, namely moral instruction and social intercourse.Our meetings are intended to cultivate and enlighten the mind,to induce a habit of virtue, and to strengthen the fundamentalprinciples of our Order: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. And ifthese meetings are blended with social mirth and a mutualinterchange of fraternal feelings, then Freemasonry will beshown in its true light, as an institution which fosters andimproves the best affections of our nature, and carries intoactive operation the practice of the four cardinal virtues:Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice, combined withthe theological virtues — Faith, Hope and Charity — therebydemonstrating to the world at large that in Freemasonry thereis found the true import of the three great social treasures:Fraternity, Liberty and Equality. Therefore the utmost extensionof fraternal feeling and affection which can subsist betweenman and man is expected to be displayed among the Brethrenof our Order in a lodge of freemasons, and then will be attainedthe chief point of Freemasonry, namely, to endeavor to behappy ourselves, and to communicate that happiness to others.

ConclusionMost brethren are capable of performing ritual and all of us are

capable of improving our performance. Remember:1. Lodges to plan the degree early and set the practice a week before the

degree;2. Learn the words as soon as you can;3. Repeat out loud often;4. Endeavour to interpret the meaning of your part;5. Be ready to perform your part by the practice date;6. Control your anxiety;7. Have one prompter near the performer;8. Speak clearly and distinctly and loud enough for all to hear.

QuestionsPlease forward suggestions to pdurell@shaw.ca

11

Parking karma, part IIPresented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011by R.W. Bro. Stephen MacKenzie, Mount Hermon Lodge No. 7

At last year's Grand Masonic Day I endeavored to presentsome ideas on life and how one's attitude to life getsreflected back to each of us in some way or another. In thecourse of a trip to Centre Lodge's Installation last summer Ihad the opportunity to converse with W Bro. Raphael Chingon many topics, some of them related to Freemasonry. Atone stage he declared that he would send me a presentationthat would change my life. It is a seven minute slide showby the author Steven Covey and simply encapsulates inthose seven minutes what I could not so effectively do intwenty.

The 90/10 Principleby Stephen Covey

Discover the 90/10 Principle. It will change your life, or at least, theway you react to situations. What is this Principle? 10% of life is made upof what happens to you, 90% of life is decided by how you react.

What does this mean?We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We

cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving,which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in the traffic.

We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. Youdetermine the other 90%.

How? By your reaction.You cannot control a red light, however, you can control your

reaction. Do not let people fool you. You can control how you react. Let ususe an example…

You are having breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocksover a cup of coffee onto your business shirt.You have no control overwhat has just happened. What happens next will be determined by howyou react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cupover. She breaks down in tears.

After scolding her, you turn to your wife and you criticize her forplacing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battlefollows.

You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you findyour daughter has been too busy crying to finish her breakfast and gettingready to go to school. She misses the bus.

Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the carand drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive fortymiles per hour in a thirty miles per hour speed limit zone. After a fifteen-minute delay and throwing a $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school.Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye.

After arriving at the office twenty minutes late, you realize youforgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, itseems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home. Whenyou arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your wife

and daughter. Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning.Why did you have a bad day? Did the coffee cause it? Did your

daughter cause it? Did the policeman cause it? Did you cause it? Theanswer is you.

You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How youreacted in those five seconds is what caused your bad day.

Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffe splashesover you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say: “It’s okay, honey,you just need to be more careful next time.” Grabbing a towel you goupstairs and change your shirt. You grab your briefcase, and you comeback down in time to look through the window and see your child gettingon the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive five minutes early a cheerfullygreet the staff.

Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started thesame. Both ended different. Why? Because of how you reacted.

You really have no control over 10% of what happens in your life.The other 90% was determined by your reaction. Here are some ways toapply the 90/10 Principle.

If someone says something negative about you, do not be a sponge.Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You do not have to let thenegative comments affect you.React properly and it will not ruin your day.A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, or gettingstressed out.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in the traffic? Do you loseyour temper? Pound on the steering wheel? (A friend of mine had thesteering wheel fall off). Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket?Who cares if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruinyour drive? Remember the 90/10 Principle and don’t worry about it.

You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? Itwill work out. Use your worrying energy and time to find a new job.

The plane is late. It is going to mangle your schedule for the day.Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no controlover what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the otherpassenger, why stress out? It will just make things worse.

Now you know the 90/10 Principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing

if you try it. The 90/10 Principle is incredible. Very few know and apply thisPrinciple. The result? You will see it by yourself!

Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials,problems and headaches. We all must understand and apply the 90/10Principle. It can change your life!

Enjoy it...it only takes willpower to give ourselves permission tomake the experience.Dr. Stephen R. covey is author of The Seven Habits of HighlyEffective People. The text above is taken from a PowerPointpresentation currently available on over 40,000 websites.

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The political situation in SerbiaOn 25 March 1941 the Kingdom of Yugoslavia joined the Axis

Powers by signing the Tripartite Pact in Vienna. This immediately lead to acoup in the night between 26 -27 March, and the formation of a newgovernment headed by General Dusan Simovic. There were ninefreemasons as ministers.

Without a declaration of war, on 6 April 1941, Germany, with thehelp of its allies Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and Albania, attacked Yugoslavia.After eleven days, the Yugoslavian resistance was broken and Yugoslaviasurrendered. German occupation forces established a Serbian puppetgovernment led by a Council of Commissioners under the direct commandof German occupation forces.

The anti-masonic exhibit in Belgrade, 1941With the approval of Ribbentrop, German military commander for

Serbia, Harold Tuner issued orders in mid-May 1941 to establish a specialcommission to determine responsibility for the coup of 27 March 2 andassign guilt for the outbreak of the war. This commission was under thedirect supervision of German SS officer, Hans Richter.

The coup was determined to be the responsibility of England, theFreemasons and the Yugoslav government in exile. A special committeewas formed to present these results to the Serbian nation for whichpurpose they prepared the anti-masonic exhibition. This anti-masonicexhibition was organized to also contain anti-communist and antisemiticmaterials.

The exhibition was scheduled for 23 June 231941 and wasscheduled to be held on the premises of the former Grand Lodge ofYugoslavia.The opening had to be postponed, as a large quantity ofexplosives was found in the basement. Someone had wanted to blow upthe building at the opening of the exhibition. An investigation wasconducted, but the perpetrator was never found.

The exhibition was finally opened on 22 October 1941. The opening ceremony was attended by high-ranking

representatives of the German occupation forces and representatives of theSerbian authorities. The exhibition was closed on 29 January 1942.

Four anti-masonic stamps were printed to note this exhibition.

Symbolism of anti-masonic stampsOn the left edge of the first stamp, in Cyrillic letters, is written

“Serbia.” In the left bottom corner the price, 0:50 + 0:50 in dinars, iswritten in Cyrillic font

At the bottom is written, in Cyrillic letters, “the Anti-masonicExhibition” and in the top right corner is the date of opening of theexhibition. In the top left corner is a round shield with a cross and fourCyrillic letters “S”, from which light penetrates a cowering, hooded figure.

The shield symbolizes the strength of the Serbian people, the sunabove Serbia., the light that destroys all enemies of Serbia. The hoodedfigure wearing a Star of David on his chest which represent the Jewishpeople and the masonic apron of Freemasonry. The sword is dropped as asign of surrender

The stamp symbolizes the victory of the Serbian nation, led by theSerbian puppet government. The stamp also symbolizes an internationalconspiracy of freemasons and Jews against Serbia.

The figure representing the freemasons and the Jews is hiddenunder a hood, a mask symbolizing hoe freemasons and Jews haveinfiltrated intro every facet of society. The stamps symbolized the power ofthe Serbian nation to defeat every enemy.

During the time of the exhibition many freemasons were arrested,with many fired from their jobs and some killed.

On the left edge of the second stamp, in Cyrillic letters, is written“Serbia.” In the left bottom corner is printed the price, 1 + 1, in dinars,written in Cyrillic letters. At the bottom of the stamp is written, in Cyrillicletters, “the Anti-masonic Exhibition” and printed above that is the date ofthe opening of the exhibition. In the upper right corner is a round shieldwith a cross and four Cyrillic letters “S.”

Here,a hand comes out of the light and grasps the snake by the

Serbian anti-masonic postage stampsPresented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011

by Bro. Goran Ivankovic, Capilano Lodge No. 164

13

neck. The snake is placed on the masonicsquare and compasses which lay over aworld globe.

The light here represents the Serbiannation, with justice and faith in God. Thehand symbolizing the strength that springsfrom the light as God’s will and defeatingthe snake, a biblical symbol of evil, avenomous snake that tried to poison Serbia.

A pattern of Star of David on theviper reinforces the image of the Jews asthe main enemies of Serbia.

The viper head is pressed on thesymbol of Freemasonry, the square andcompasses, showing that the Jews are theones who control Freemasonry.

The globe symbolizes theinternational nature of Freemasonry and theJewish conspiracy. The whole imagesymbolizes the failed internationalconspiracy of freemasons and Jews againstthe Serbian people and the strength of theSerbian nation of that Serbian puppetgovernment

The third stamp is red and dedicatedto anti-communist propaganda. On the upper edge is written, in Cyrillic,“Anti-masonic Exhibition.” Again, in the lower left corner, is a price writtenin dinars. On the bottom edge is written “Serbia”, using Cyrillic alphabet,and in the right lower corner is the date of opening of the exhibition.

A cross with four firesteels dominates the picture with its centralposition. On them is tied a sheaf of wheat. The bottom of the cross issword point, breaking a five-pointed star with hammer and sickle. Here,the five-pointed star lies on the world globe.

The cross with four firesteels symbolizes Serbian nationality and thesheaf of wheat the Serbian people. At thattime 90% of the population in Serbia wasliving in rural areas while only 10% lived incities. The five-pointed star with sickle andhammer symbolized the communist

partisans who led the uprising against theGermans in Serbia.

The star rests on a globe, symbolizingearth, depicting the international characterof communism and the internationalconspiracy against Serbia. The cross breaksthe five-pointed star in two and symbolicallyannounce victory of Serbia over partisansand, even better, over communism.

On the upper edge of the fourthstamp is written in Cyrillic “Anti-masonExhibition.” In the lower right corner is aprice written in dinar. On the bottom edge iswritten “Serbia”, in Cyrillic. In the upper leftcorner is the emblem with a cross and fourfiresteels. In the top right corner is the dateof opening of the exhibition. At the bottomof the picture is a globe with a Star of Davidand the two pillars, Jachin and Boaz.

In the background is the shining sun.In the middle is a figure wearing Serbian folkcostume, in a posture like the biblicalSamson breaking the pillars. He stands onthe Star of David. Again the Star of David ona globe symbolizes the international

character of the Jews and their desire for world domination.The two pillars of Jachin and Boaz represent Freemasonry, which is

closely related in the service of Jewish conspiracy for world domination.The message contained in the four stamps is that the real enemies

of the Serbian people are the jews, freemasons and communists. Butneither Jews nor Freemasonry can resist the force of the Serbian nation,whose power comes directly from God, symbolized in the light from whichthe Serbian Samson draws his strength.

The intent of the images found on these four stamps is to evoke thesuccessful struggle of the Serbian nation,led by a puppet government, against aninternational conspiracy against Serbia, ledby, and organized by, Jews andfreemasons.

Ancient Free and Accepted MeteorologistsAs I start I would acknowledge the inspiration for this talk was our

late brother RW Bro. Chuck Oxley who gave a similar talk using a differentprofession as the underlying subject. It is given, as was the previouspresentation, in a spirit of light-heartedness and I trust it will be received inthe same spirit.

What if our ancient brethren had been men of science looking not atthe building of buildings but at the natural world about them, particularlythe wind and weather… how different would our Craft be today?

I present you with a different set of working tools … the workingtools of the Antient Free and Accepted Meteorologists. In this Craft thedegrees would be classified as the Climatological Degree (Past Weather),the Observational Degree (Present Weather) and the Predictive Degree(Future Weather) with working tools used in each degree. Allow me toexplain both their operative use and their speculative meanings.

The Climatological DegreeThe instruments or working tools of this degree are used at nearly

1,000 stations across Canada run mainly by volunteers who takeobservations twice a day, recording maximum and minimum temperatures,amount of precipitation and its character and depth of snow on theground. Let me show you how these instruments are used.

Snow Ruler – it is divided into increments of 0.2 cm (2 mm). It isoperated by getting several readings over an area of about 25 squaremetres (250 sq. ft.) and averaging the amount to get a representative valuefor the station.

Maximum thermometer – This instrument use the sameprinciple used by nurses and moms for many years.

A constriction in the thermometer allows mercury to expand out ofthe bulb as the temperature increases but does not allow the mercury toreturn as the temperature decreases, thus remaining at the highesttemperature.

Minimum thermometer – A small index stays in the alcoholcolumn being pushed down the column as the temperature decreases but it

is left behind as the temperature increases and the column moves upward. The observer needs to record the position of the index to record the

lowest temperature since the thermometer was reset.Rain Gauge – With a catchment area of known size a graduated

cylinder can be devised to measure rainfall to the nearest 0.1 mm. At thetop of the graduate is a hole to allow excess water (more than 25.0 mm) touse the outer cylinder to collect the overflow, a feature required for thoseof us living in a temperate rainforest. My personal record for most rainfallmeasured in a six hour period was 134.0 mm or 5 1/4 inches.

However we are not Operative Meteorologists but rather Free andAccepted, or Speculative Meteorologists and we apply these instrumentsfiguratively to our morals. In this sense the snow ruler teaches us the truemeasure of a man is not recorded once but over the course of time so anaccurate account can be presented to the Great Meteorologist of theUniverse.

The Maximum and Minimum thermometers teach us that all yourlife is contained between the highest and lowest point of your existenceand it is here where your day to day life takes place.

The Standard Rain Gauge teaches us that blessings, like rainfall, canbe in short supply for long stretches and then in abundance. One mustlearn to keep the overflow to be used when they are in short supply.

The Observational DegreeThe instruments or working tools of this degree are used at more

than 200 stations nationally. These stations provided aviation weatherreports including air temperature, visibility, current weather, wind and airpressure readings vital to the safe operation of aircraft. Let me show youthree such instruments:

The Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge (TBRG) – This low techdevice has been used since the late 1930s and is used to measure theintensity of rainfall. It acts like a teeter-totter. When one side fills with 0.2mm of rain, it tips over and empties, exposing the other side to the rain. Asit tips, a mercury switch causes an electrical circuit to be completed andtriggers a step on a recorder inside the office. By measuring the number ofsteps in a given time the observer can determine the intensity of therainfall, more accurately than “It’s raining cats and dogs” or “It sure is agully-washer out there.”

The Stevenson Screen – An instrument invented by ThomasStevenson, a civil engineer and the father of Robert Louis Stevenson. Itspurpose is to allow airflow across the thermometers without exposingthose thermometers directly to rain or snow, sunshine or wind. The screen Ihave here this evening is a small version used aboard thousands of ships.Its small size is better suited for onboard use.

The Anemometer – The wind speed and direction has come inmany forms over the years with the traditional cups and vane design beingreplaced with this RM Young propeller on the vane configuration. Thisparticular device is completely digital and can produce wind speed anddirection in any unit required (e.g. knots, metres per second, kilometres perhour, etc.).

However we are not Operative Meteorologists but rather Free and

14

Working tools of A.F. & A.M.Presented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011

by R.W. Bro. R. Alan Webster, Alliance Lodge No. 193

15

Accepted, or SpeculativeMeteorologists and we apply theseinstruments figuratively to ourmorals. In this sense the TippingBucket Rain Gauge teaches us thatthe intensity of emotions, bothgood and bad, are measured andrecorded so when one accounts forone’s life an accurate record isavailable for all to see.

The Stevenson Screenteaches us a simple design toprotect critical information isalways the best. Over protectioncan lead to inaccurate results andbad decision making.

The Anemometer teachesus one must accept there arethings bigger than man and you cannot change them anymore than you canstop the wind from blowing.

The Predictive DegreeThe instruments or working tools of this degree have evolved over the

years from pencil, eraser and paper to the world’s larger supercomputers.Numerical Weather Prediction – A supercomputer is fed with

weather data from thousands of locations from around the world at everylevel of the atmosphere from the surface up to 100,000 feet.

Equations related to the thermodynamic principles of the atmosphereneed to be processed on a global scale but with enough detail to havemeaning to small geographic regions and their weather influencing patterns.Even with some of the fastestcomputers available the level ofresolution is still a grid 10 km by10 km.

At each intersection thecomputer model will run all theequations based on interpolateddata from each observing point,represented above by the dots inthe grid. As you can see a 10 by 10km grid allows for a lot of gapsbetween forecasting and datapoints. Let’s not forget to put in a

vertical dimension with datacollected at 10 specific heightsusing the same surface grid but theupper air data is much sparser.Elevation changes are notaccounted for in the model, beingsimply too complex to handle. TheGreater Vancouver forecast regioncould be divided into sixteenseparate forecast zones dependingon conditions.

Good news and bad newsGood News: UBC has

developed a model that is muchmore refined, using a grid of 2.5km by 2.5 km and its accuracy inpredicting Day Two (tomorrow)

conditions for the Pacific Northwest and SW BC is outstanding.Bad News: The forecast for Day Two (in our case Sunday) will not be

ready until Tuesday morning because the computing power to produce theforecast is not sufficiently fast (yet).

However we are not Operative Meteorologists but rather Free andAccepted, or Speculative Meteorologists and we apply these instrumentsfiguratively to our morals. In this sense we are taught while we are gettingbetter at forecasting further into the future there will always been missedevents and surprises. This is but one example of where God's plan willmanifest itself.

I have enjoyed the opportunity of sharing with you some of the toolsof my trade from the very basic snow ruler to the fastest supercomputers yet

invented. We have made greatstrides in the advancement of thescience of meteorology but for theforeseeable future human inputand intuition will be required tomake all the measurements,calculations and outputs useableto mankind. In conclusion Ibelieve I have presented analternative course we could wellhave taken and I am sure you areglad my profession was not liquidwaste engineering.

16

In the footsteps of PythagorasPresented at the G.V.R.D. Grand Masonic Day, 5 March 2011by Bro. Troy M. Spreeuw, Duke of Connaught Lodge No. 64

IntroductionSo how does the first “philosopher”,

this giant of history dead nearly 2500 yearsaffect us in the here and now?

The core text this talk is based on isfrom Thomas Stanley’s The History ofPhilosophy. This sweeping text waspublished by Stanley in 1687 at the age of29. This work, which referenced all knownmaterial on Pythagoras at the time, hasbeen reprinted with the assistance of Mr.James Wasserman and Mr. Daniel Gunther. Iam in their debt and this presentation isdedicated to them.

My intention with this talk is not todeliver an exhaustively researched paperdetailing the direct influences of this greatman to the western esoteric tradition ingeneral and Freemasonry in particular. I willnot stand here and relate a list of facts. Thatwould be a fruitless exercise. We are so far removed from the time and placethat provable facts are nearly impossible. Suspend your disbelief for the nexttwenty minutes. What we will talk about are the similarities, what I believeare remnants of the Pythagorean philosophy still found in Freemasonry.

His LifePythagoras was born on the Greek island of Samos around 570 BCE.

He travelled the world as a young man and it is believed he studied as fareast as India. His studies included Persian, Chaldean, Egyptian, Hebrew, andGreek mystery schools. In all his travels he was recognized as a learned manand it was said that he was welcomed wherever he went. Students of hisschool recount many of these tales; of particular interest, they recount storiesof initiation or the sharing of secret or privileged knowledge.

When he settled in Croton, a Greek colony in southern Italy, he wasimmediately recognized as a wise and learned man. He set up a school toteach the wisdom he accumulated in his travels and attracted many disciples.Teachers at this time were typically hailed as “sophos” meaning literallywisdom or wise one. Pythagoras would come to be known as “philio –sophos” meaning a lover of wisdom. The existence of the Pythagoreanschool ushered in a golden age of Greek philosophy. Counted among thosemost influenced by him are Epedocles, Euclid and Plato. It is primarily fromPlato that the ideas and principles of Pythagoras come to the rest of westernsociety through the vast influence of Platonic philosophy.

Students in his school were required to live an austere life. In joiningthe Pythagorean school followers were required live in silence five years,during which they attended lectures by Pythagoras where he spoke frombehind a screen. All followers lived with all property in common and lived anessentially ascetic life. Not all were admitted to the group, which wasprimarily male, only those deemed of exceptional character. Some recountedthis group as a “college”, others a “system”, still others a “family”.

Pythagoras never committed histhoughts to paper or tablet. He believed thatdoing so might make his secrets known bythose who were unworthy. This is said to becommon practice of mystery schools of thetime. Little, if any, of the true mysterytraditions of the ancient world survive inwriting, at least in any understandablesense. What we do know of him survived inthe oral and written traditions of hisadmirers and followers, notably Iamblicusand many of the other notables of Greekphilosophy.

There are four concepts that relate tomany western mystery traditions – inparticular both Freemasonry and thePythagorean School. Among many otherimportant ideas, these four items point out aclear relationship between the PythagoreanSchool and almost every mystery school

since. One might even say that what was started and expanded byPythagoras and his students has been distilled through 2500 years ofexperience down to modern Freemasonry. These four ideas that I allude toare

1. Numerological symbolism;2. The use of mnemonic axioms;3. The proper integration of the religious impulse];4. A study and contemplation of ones own death.

Numerological SymbolismTo begin, the numerological system values numbers as the highest

and purest form of the realm of ideas. The system of numerology thatPythagoras seems to have worked with was similar to Greek and Hebrewqabalah.

Stanley talks about the value of numerology, in the way that one canassign all things a numerological value and create relationships betweenthings according to that value. These interrelationships allow one to drawconnections and like properties from idea to idea, sentence to sentence, etcetera. In Thomas Stanley’s words:

“For all things which are ordered in the world by nature[…] appear to be distinguished and adorned by Providenceand the All-creating Mind according to number.” (Stanley 143)The first ten numbers are grouped in general qualities like “even and

odd” and “male and female” and then have a very specific meaning for eachnumber. The tetractys, a triangular symbol consisting of ten dots used forcontemplation of these mysteries, was considered by Pythagoras’s studentshis greatest achievement. The tetractys would compare to a modern tree oflife in the hermetic qabalah. Three was considered the greatest number ofall, even more important than the unified Monad, or one. Amongst the mostinteresting studies for freemasons is their adoration of the number three as

The tetractys.

the balance, the first truly odd number. Stanley writes that, “The Triad is the first number actually Odd: the first

perfect number. It is middle and proportion. It causes thepower of the Monad to proceed to act and achieveextension. It is the first and proper joining together ofunities.” (Stanley 153)

And further he also points out:“Prudence, Wisdom, […] Piety, Temperance. All Virtues

depend upon this number, and proceed from it.” (Stanley153)These principles can then act as a mnemotic tool, but they can also

serve as a way to access the sacred in all that you see. The true essence ofa thing can be related to numbers. This is why Pythagoras, known to non-esoterics as primarily a mathematician, is so fond of numbers andmathematics. His system of numerology, perhaps event taught toPythagoras by the Hebrews, is comparable with the various systems ofqabalah.

Mnemonic AxiomsThe use of many axioms that contained language to express their

philosophy meant to impart both an obvious meaning and a hiddenmeaning. This served not only as a mnemonic tool to remember and recallparticular tenets; it also created a specific group of phrases that could beused in casual conversation for the purposes of recognition. An examplefrom Iamblicus:

“Decline highways, and take the foot path!” (Stanley 270)This means the adherent should avoid the excesses of wider society

and live a slower, more contemplative life.“ ‘Turn away from the self every edge.’ […] This symbol commands

to use prudence, not anger. For that edge of the mind which we call angeris void of reason and prudence.” (Stanley, quoting Iamblicus 275)

As freemasons we can immediately recognize this in our ownpractice. Something we are known for even outside of our owncommunities. This is not “word, grip and sign” but something much moresubtle. This is the penetration, the complete assimilation of ideas thatoccurs when you memorize passages so well that you can recite themwhen called on. Many of us can produce long passages of memory workwith little prompting, word perfect, every time. These pieces becomeimportant to us, becoming a part of the way we think and speak. This isthe intention! This is what is truly meant by the phrase “the living word”.The ideas, the principles, the tenets are inculcated so deeply that theyaffect us in our everyday life. It is my assertion that they affect us on anunconscious level. Using this language comes naturally to us in ourpersonal lives outside of the tyled security of our lodges. It is this effect ofmemorization and recall that is referred to as mason-speke. Using phrasesfrom our ritual in casual conversation might get you recognized by othermasons.

The proper integration of the religious impulse“When you to the temple, worship, neither do nor say anything

concerning life.” (Stanley, quoting Iamblicus 272)Pythagoras spoke often of worshipping the gods, but always with a

caution of temperance. Religious beliefs and practices were to be keptprivate and separate from the rest of your life. The idea was to keep themind open to possibilities and not shrouded in dogma or rigid thinking. ThePythagoreans desired among all other traits an open mind. Pursuant to thissame principle they found it helpful to organize their day, as freemasonsmight, with proper amounts of contemplation, work, refreshment andsleep.

Philosophy is best practiced with an open mind; using the religious

interpretations of others as a basis for one’s own truth leaves individualsopen to manipulation. The principles of philosophy are about discerning forone’s self what is and is not true. This idea of an open mind, or seeingthings with fresh eyes, cannot be underestimated. As one learns andgrows, what was once seen as true is seen as illusion or falsehood. Theidea is to keep not only the mind, but also the self, evolving.

It is all too common among religious adherents that they acceptwhat they are told by the religious authority rather than by learning andtesting it for themselves. The proper integration of the religious impulse,then, is the subjugation of dogma by truth.

A Contemplation of DeathThough this is not unique to the mystery school of Pythagoras, what

is most interesting about this tenet is the language that mentions it.Specifically, the lack of details around this particular topic indicate that itwas a closely guarded secret. It is said that Pythagoras considered thecontemplation of one’s own death to be one of the greatest mysteries. Thehistorical texts state almost universally that Pythagoras’s own rituals andteachings on this topic were of the utmost secrecy. This should come as nosurprise to freemasons, since our own secrets and mysteries relate to thistopic.

ConclusionThe symbols or mysteries we are discussing today may seem

obvious. The connections between our predecessors and modern mysterymovements are not provable facts, but the reason these symbols keeprecurring is because they are part of the collective unconscious, that well ofknowledge that some might call genetic memory or the “mind of god”. Theideas themselves have a life of sorts, and they reach out to us across theages because they are timeless. They occur to thoughtful andcontemplative people. They come from a place far more powerful thansimple instinct or reflex. To me, this is proof of our divine inheritance.

All that we have discussed thus far is concerned with ideas ofhistory or symbolism. What follows is my own interpretation of the systemof initiation that Pythagoras exemplified.

Pythagoras was a man who sought after wisdom. His path ledhim away from his family and peers to travel widely and learn from thosewho also were lovers of wisdom. He “wandered in the wilderness” manydays. The primary thing he learned was who he was. He becamePythagoras. His initiation was one of self knowledge. Pythagoras was veryfamiliar with the common Greek axiom Gnothi Seauton, which he wouldhave seen inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Many of us wouldnot recognize this Greek phrase as well as we would the Latin one: TemetNosce. It means “know thyself”. Popularized by the Matrix movies, TemetNosce is written over the door Neo enters when he first meets the Oracle.

I would argue that the path of initiation, or the story of the rudematter made perfect, is the same now as it was 2500 years ago when thePythagoreans practiced it. The futuristic story of Neo in the three Matrixmovies shows a man evolving from a dreamlike state of “false life” to theconfrontation with the enemy and his own ego – some might say they arethe same. The Pythagoreans in their own way were trying to elevate theirown minds to operate in the world of forms, or the higher and purermethods of thought. They were trying to “wake up” from a life lived inpointless pursuit of wealth, power or pleasure.

The tale of a person going away typical and coming backremarkable is repeated throughout history. Pythagoras exemplified it forhis students, and many other mystics in history have exemplified it fortheirs. Freemasonry, in fact the path of initiation in general, differs from therest of society in this fundamental way: We seek to improve ourselves inorder that we might achieve what we were created to do. Freemasonry is a

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proven, systematic method of “waking up” the divine spark that indwellsour physical vehicle. We do the work of applying forces to the rough ashlarin hopes of achieving the goal: know thyself.

There is one more thing I would like to bring up before we move on. Itis my belief that this system of initiation points toward the next step, one wemust each work on in our own way. When the knowledge of the self madeperfect is attained — and I believe it can be — once we have become what

we are, we must devote all to the union with what we are not. It is a truth

that is best exemplified in the natural process by which we as humans create

new life. Herein lies a great mystery.

Works CitedStanley, Thomas. Pythagoras: His Life and Teachings. Eds. James Wasserman

and J. Daniel Gunther. Lake Worth, Florida: Ibis Press, 2010.

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G R A N D L O D G E O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A A N D Y U K O N

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Presented by the G.V.R.D.Grand Masonic Day Committee:John K. R. Keirstead Chairman

W. Ian Thompson, Wesley S. Regan, Goran Ivankovic,

under the ægis of the Vancouver Lodge of

Education and Research,held at Freemasons’ Hall

1495 West Eighth AvenueVancouver, B.C.

freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/vgmd29.html

R.W. Bro. Donald E. Stutt a�Luncheon addressW. Bro. Daniel J. Zrymiak a Cement and adornBro. Wesley S. Regan a Masonry as meditation

R.W. Bro. Philip Durell a��Learning and performing ritualR.W. Bro. Stephen MacKenzie a��Parking karma, part II

Bro. Goran Ivankovic a��Serbian anti-masonic postage stampsR.W. Bro. R. Alan Webster a��Working tools of A.F. & A.M.

Bro. Troy M. Spreeuw a��In the footsteps of Pythagoras